Portable floor



V NiTED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JACOB RING, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

PORTABLE FLOOR, 80C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 248,667, dated October25, 1881.

Application filed April 4, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAooB KING, of the city of Brooklyn, and county ofKings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Floors, Walls, Wainsoots, and Ceilings, which improvement is fullyset forth and illustrated in the following specification.

My invention relates to improvements in floors, walls, wainscots,ceilings, and to an improved method oflayingand erecting the same; andthe objects of myimprovement are to provide a floor, wall,wainscot, orceiiin g, either permanent or portable, which, if desired to be removed,may be removed at pleasure without injury to the under surface, againstwhich the said floor, wall, Wainscot, or ceiling is secured. I attainthese objects by means of the combination of the floor-pieces and tongueor plate of iron, brass, or other suitable metal consti tuting thedevices illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure lrepresents,in plan,a section of the floor, Wainscot, wall, or ceilinginto which arabbet has been cutand grooves madein the edges, in whichisinserted the tongue or plate ofiron, brass, or other suitable metal.The strip pro. jects beyond the edge ofthe section of the floor, &c., inwhich it is insertcd,and forms a strong and durable rabbet orjoint, intowhich the next and contiguous section is inserted and firmly held. Fig.2is an end view of a section of the floor and of the tongue or plateillustrated in Fig. 1, showing both the screws by which the tongue orplate is secured to the floor-section and to its under support, whichmay be either an old floor, or joists, or studding. Fig. 3 represents across-section of two pieces or sections of the floor, wall, Wainscot, orceiling, showing the manner of joining the same. together by means ofthe metal tongue or plate and of affixing them to the floor or undersurface by means of screws. Fig. 4 represents, in plan,a section of thefloor, wainscot, wall, or ceiling as laid down, showing, in dottedlines, the direction of the tongues or plates. The edges not united bymetal tongues may be tongued and grooved in the ordinary manner bytongue or groove, though they may be so united, if preferred.

In the said figures, A represents the sections of the floor, Wainscot,wall, or ceiling; B, the metal plate or strip uniting the two; a, thejoint of the two sections, and b the screw which unites the plate andsections to the floor or under surface. These tessellated pieces orsections may be of any convenient size and shape, preferably squares orparallelograms, and may be constructed of iron or any suit ablematerial, but preferably of wood variagated in different colors,ornamented to suit any particular taste. The sections may be affixed tothe floor or under surface, and may be secured by nails or pins, butpreferably by screws, as above described.

The preparation of the entire floor, wainsoot, wall,or ceiling may bemade at the shop, and if wood is used for the sections the process ofoiling, hardening, and polishing may be perfected beforethe sections arelaid down. A much more durable oiling, hardening, and polishingcan thusbe secured than in the present style of applying the oil and polishafter the flooring is laid.

The present method of laying floors requires the oiling and polishing tobe 'done after the floor is laid. Much time and inconvenience andfreedom from interruption to use of rooms where floors are to be laidare thus saved to the occupants of the premises. Great discomfort fromthe use of boiling oil in occupied premisesis also bythismethodavoided.When the floor, wall,wainscot, or ceiling is thus laid the iron tonguesor plates and screws are concealed from view, and the floor, wall,wainscot, or ceiling presents an unbroken surface, forming a strong,durable, and handsome floor, wall, Wainscot, and ceiling, and at thesame time easily and speedily removed, when occasion requires, leavingintact the old floors or walls beneath.

Instead of squares or parallelograms, it is evident that long strips ofseasoned wood, six or more inches wide, composed of different kinds ofwood all glued together,may be used 5 without danger of springing orwarpin Having thus fully described my said imcuring said tongueandlowerrabbetbyscrews provement, as of my invention I c1aimor pins tothe joists, studding, or other per- 10 The method of uniting contiguousedges of mauent supports for said pieces, substantially tessellatedwall, Wainscot, floor, or ceiling as and for the purposes set forth. 5pieces, which consists in grooving and oppo- JACOB RING.

sitely rabbeting said edges, inserting in said \Vituesses: grooves andbetween the upper and lower F. H. JORDAN, faces of the rabbets a tongueor plate, and se- R. F. WHEELER.

